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Pregnant for Years?! 20 Animals with Very Long Pregnancies

Pregnancy is a special place that women go to, a land where most men (okay all men) are not allowed.

Oh yeah, we can stand at the gates and peek inside, but that doesn’t really add up to much. Men are — for all intents and purposes — totally excluded from the trials and tribulations of pregnancy. We hardly get a taste of the magic, and likewise, we never feel sick, bloated, congested, achy, exhausted, or lightly homicidal because of the baby that will never ever grow down in our beer bellies.

I mean: how the hell do they do it? How do females create and carry a tiny human inside of them until it ain’t really so tiny at all? It is one of the great mysteries of our world, this baby thing, and I will probably always admire every single woman who spends about nine months doing all of the hard work when it comes to making a kid.

That said there are some other critters out there in the animal kingdom who take things up a notch when it comes to pregnancy. I guess I hadn’t really ever thought about it before, but there are quite a few animals whose gestation period goes longer, in a lot of cases MUCH LONGER, than a human’s does.

I’ve compiled a bunch of them for you to check out. It’s pretty remarkable, actually.

Unless you’re a pregnant giraffe.

Then, it probably just sucks really, really bad.

1. Cow

Cows aren’t typically pregnant for too much longer than a human, yet with calves usually born at 10 months, they still have us beat.

2. Horse

Mares are typically pregnant for 11-12 months. Imagine carrying a baby horse around inside of you? It must feel like you housed an eighty-pound meatloaf.

3. Sea Lion

Sea lions usually give birth to their pups after 11 or 12 monthsof pregnancy. And then they have the cutest baby on Earth.

4. Llama

Llama mamas carry their young for 11-12 months. Compared to us humans, that’s an extra bunch of weeks for them to waddle around and stare at the sun and wish they were a darn chipmunk (31 day pregnancy) instead.

5. Sperm Whale

Female sperm whales carry their young for 14-16 months. Oh man, mom must feel like a small trout when that big baby finally pops out.

6. Black Rhino

The irresistible baby Black Rhinoceros comes into this world after his mother has hauled him around in her belly for 15 -17 months. That’s like two entire pro baseball seasons and then some. But I guess rhinos don’t care about baseball, huh?

7. Java Rhino

Okay, so I’m a real sucker for rhinos. Who isn’t? They are pure awesomeness and they remind me of dinosaurs. The very endangered Javan rhino stays pregnant even longer than their Black Rhino cousin. How does being knocked up for 16-19 months sound? Hey, good things take time to make.

8. Dolphin

Dolphins give birth after being pregnant for 11-12 months. That’s not much compared to some animals, but it’s still quite a bit longer than us humans.

9. Tapir

Pregnant tapir moms-to-be have to wait 13 months to meet their little tapirs. Judging by how cute this guy is though, it almost seems worth the really long slog.

10. Walrus

If you are a baby walrus waiting your turn to see the light of the world, you have to wait for 15 months before you can get born. Poor pregnant Mrs Walrus. She must feel like she swallowed a baby rhino.

11. Zebra

It takes 12-13 months for a baby zebra to grow inside his or her mama before they are ready to be born. I’d say mom really earns her stripes (no pun intended!) with each pregnancy then, wouldn’t you?

12. Killer Whale

Killer whales are pregnant with their babies for 17-18 months. That’s like a year and a half. My wife would eat me alive. Killer wife.

13. Camel

Camels stay pregnant for 13-14 months. And then, finally, they get rid of the bump… but not the hump.

14. Manatee

Manatees are such gentle, beautiful creatures. They even seem to live in slow motion. That might be because they are so tired from BEING PREGNANT FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR!!! Yep, mama manatees keep their babies in their wombs for 12 months before they give birth to their not-so-little amazing creature.

15. Donkey

Baby donkeys are born after their mother endures a 12-14 month pregnancy. I wonder if a donkey ever just up and forgot she was even pregnant since the whole process takes so long.

16. Giraffe

The average giraffe pregnancy takes 15 months. Humans can get pregnant, have a baby, and then get pregnant again in that same amount of time. Whoa.

17. Alpaca

It takes about 11-13 months for an alpaca baby to be all set to pop on out into this world. Useless Trivia: I like to think that every alpaca mom gives her sons the cool gangster name, Al Paca.

18. Harp Seal

Harp seals have quite a rough life if you think about it. They live in some of the harshest climates on Earth and are constantly trying to avoid being killed by a variety of predators, one of which is human beings. So, I suspect that mama harps really enjoy the 11-12 months they are pregnant with their babies, since it’s the one time they can feel like the kids are safe.

19. African Elephant

If you are an African Elephant mama and you’re pregnant, you will be walking around with a ‘little elephant’ inside of you for 22 months. That’s almost two whole years! I know good things come to those who wait and all, but wow.

20. Sharks

I love sharks and find them fascinating, so I was surprised to learn that many of them have very long pregnancies. In fact, 2 years is not at all uncommon in the shark kingdom. However, one shark in particular takes the award for the most insane pregnancy span in all the world. The Frilled Shark, once pregnant, will remain so for about 3-AND-A-HALF YEARS! I am speechless. I am blown away. Thanks for joining me!

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Content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical or health, safety, legal or financial advice. Click here for additional information.